How to get back on the wagon

Guys, it sucks. I know because I have been there so many times too! But, you can stay on the ground, timidly pining for the wagon to come back and fetch you – or you can get up and chase after it yourself. Here are a few ways to do just that.Let’s face it, every now and then there is a wagon that we’re on and all is well – then there are times when we fall off of the wagon, because life is bumpy and this is how it works. Then there are those times where the wagon is so shoddy that it drives over us again and we can’t do much more than just lie there. Sometimes it’s okay to just mulch in your own sadness, find excuses and make promises to start over again after this slab of chocolate.

But sometimes that isn’t a healthy choice.

I have three simple ways to reconnect with your goals, to help you get your butt off of the ground and chase after them again.

It’s okay to fail

It bugs me so much that so many women bring themselves down after a wagon fall. They see themselves as failures, losers and often just the sadness of being unable to follow through sends them into depression. I keep saying them like I’m not totally talking about myself.

Too often we throw in the towel because we feel like it’s just too hard, and we make it harder by condoning emotional binge eating that sends us further down the spiral. It’s an ugly thing. But, I’m going to tell you something that you’ve probably heard before – no one is perfect.

We all fall away from our best intention and we sometimes eat the wrong foods, we skip the treadmill and opt for a girls night out instead, or just find any ol’ excuse we can. This might surprise you, but it is a normal reaction for humans to do this.

If you make a mistake or if you fall head first off of the wagon, don’t harp on the past. I’m serious. You can do absolutely nothing to change it, so why not focus on your future instead? It really doesn’t matter how many times you fall, what counts is how many times you pick yourself up again.

What’s your excuse?

It is such a natural thing for us to find excuses to mask our bad behaviour, even though we all recognize an excuse when we hear it.

You know the common ones: I’m too busy, I’m too tired, I don’t have any time, I’m running out of excuses.

So, if you don’t have enough time to focus on being healthy, do you have the time to be sick? Recognize your excuses, accept that you’re making them and look for a solution so that you can get on with it. Excuses aren’t going to help you reach your goals, so make a list of the reasons why you SHOULD be focusing on your health, rather than letting excuses dictate why you deserve another slice of cake.

Remind yourself why you started

I started my journey because I was tired of being unhappy, unhealthy and overweight. I still remind myself of why I started this challenging path to a healthier me and you should as well. Visualise yourself succeeding and keep “seeing” yourself reach your goal might sound like a bit of a hippy approach, but I swear that it works.

Keep quotes, affirmations or mantras around your home to remind you that you are doing a good job. Surround yourself with inspirational people and spend time focusing on yourself. You are worth the attention!